imported post
Nitpicking, yes, but not quite a rant. And there are lots of fanatics in here.
This is a rant:
IMO, the LEO was doing her job. There were some parts of it she didn't do particularly well, but she's doing the job that I as a tax payer in Firestone pay her to do. We can wax philospohically and technically on the finer points of whether an officiant of the government "oppressed" us, but the fact of the matter is the government doesn't do anything the populace doesn't allow them to, if only by inaction.
The only reason the LEO was there was because a sheeple made the call. I'm not going to blame the LEO for trying to do her job. I'll blame her for the ways she could have done it better, but the large part of the blame rests on the person who made the call because a table full of families, half of which were kids, half of the rest being mothers, one of whom was breastfeedingwas so intimidating because of a few holstered firearms that they had to run out of the restaurant and call the police.
In the case of your barber, I'm not going to blame the "copwho would throw a hissy". I'm going to blame your barber for, for lack of a better word, punking out and not defending the rights of his customers. I have the same fight with myself. When I hear myself saying "I just don't want to deal with 'constant vigilance' today" I retort to myself "Then you're rolling over and letting the other side, whoever they may be, creep that much closer".
I'd like to know what the call and dispatch was like. Can someone tell me how to do that? I missed the sheeplewho made the call whileminding my kids and having a good time with everyone. I am curious if he stayed and ate first before making the call and leaving.
"In last night’s incident, what effect might the officer’s appearance to check us out have had on the other customers present, the staff, and/or the management of the restaurant or on the management’s thinking about not wanting trouble with the cops, or the possibility of losing customers for fear that some customers may get nervous about the presence of cops? Might we soon see a “No Guns Allowed” sign on the front door?"
I don't care. I refuse to give law enforcement or the government that power. I refuse to contribute to the energy of fear of a government even the slightest bit by entertaining the notion that they CAN. Again, the government only has as much power as we allow them. Kvetching aboutthe minutest things the government might have on us is largely pissing into the wind when compared against having the support of the people.
If the restaurant management is going to ban guns because a cop showed upor the threat oflosing customers due to uneasiness, then they would have done itfrom OCing making people nervous at all. I do not choose to spend my time worrying about what impression the LEOgave. That kind of sheeple mentality doesn't need LEO presence to be herded into giving up rights. They're on the verge of doing so and asneeze will be push them over the edge.I'd wager if it weren't for your unfortunate encounter, your barber would have only needed a couple of other customers to say they were nervous to ask you notto OC.
Instead, IMO, what happened last nightis almost precisely how it should happen. The establishment was happy to have us as people and customers. They recognized us as just another big table on a Sunday night that they needed to take care of to retain customers in a tough economy. A sheeple got nervous and decided it wasn't the place for him. Good for him. We didn't want him around anyway and the world's big enough for all kinds. A LEO responded to the call and checked in with the staff. (Unfortunately not very thoroughly.) She contacted us to make sure there wasn't anything that she oughtn't overlook. (Unfortunatley she got a bit overzealous.) When it was clear that management had no problem with us on their private propery and that we weren't breaking any laws, she went on her way.
It's also worth noting that itappeared the woman I'd cleared our gathering with was a bit annoyed that the LEO had harrassed some of her customers. She came over personally to say she had no problem with us after the LEO contact. I didn't notice more than 1 or 2 people even notice us during the encounter, but admittedly I wasn't being my most observant.
So, what effect might the LEO's presence have had? The people got to see a sheeple leave their environment, the restaurant supported good paying customers responsibly exercising their rights, a LEO came and gave us a minimal amount of grief, and then was sent on her way. Hell, I'm not sure anyone even noticed the LEO what with the game going on! Anyone wondering whether OC is legal and practical (such asmy neighbour who attended) had pretty much any question answered.The LEO will have some re-education and hell, being a small town may even be a patron of the restaurant and we all get along better. That is what SHOULD happen! I'm calling that a victory!
Thank you for your compliment on "calm eloquence". However, as this being one of my first encounters like this I think my heart was going toburst throughmy ears and I believe I was gripping my chair and the table to keep my hands from shaking. I'm giving huge thanks to Carguy for his experienced support.I alsogive major thanks to the establishment. Without their clear support of us being there, thingscould have been much more cagey.
I do want tobring upone topic, that being the response to the "what group are you with" question. IMO, I don't need to be affiliated with a"group" toenjoy my rights. Half the people therelast nightaren't onOCDO.Several of us do hang out hereon this great social networking site. As I said to the LEO, we were a bunch of friends and neigbors out having dinner. (I think I said that.
)Y'all are a great group of people, but if someone asks me for my credential tocarry, I don't pull out any OCDO membership card.
